


A Bespoke in the Wheel

by Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-01-08
Packaged: 2018-01-07 23:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1125425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw/pseuds/Turn_of_the_Sonic_Screw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Why send a woman to do a robot spacesuit's job? Amy, Rory, River, and the Doctor discuss the events of Series 6.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Bespoke in the Wheel

**Author's Note:**

> Set just after Wedding of River Song. Spoilers for all of series 6. Talks about the Doctor and other nameless people dying, but no violence.

“So I was wondering,” Rory said as they sat, sipping wine on their back porch, all four of them together at last. Somehow it always seemed to fall to him to ask the important, logical questions. Then again, he mused as he looked around at the company, maybe this shouldn't be such a surprise. “Why did they need River to kill you, anyway? I mean, they just put her in a mostly-autonomous spacesuit. Why not just have someone else in there? Or no-one else?”

“Yeah,” Amy said. “I would kind of like to know why it was so important that it be you.”

River put down the wineglass and closed her eyes. “Have you all done Berlin?” They nodded. “Do you remember how I wanted to marry the Doctor, even then? Part of that was the tales you had told me...but only part.” She smiled sadly at the Doctor, eyes solely on him. “The same way they conditioned me to kill you...they conditioned me to love you. Don't worry,” she said, when he started. “I had thrown off all of the conditioning by the time I married you. That was all your fault.” She laughed. 

“Oh! Oh. Ah.” The Doctor nodded. “That explains it, then.”

Amy raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, still lost.”

“Amelia Pond, do you have any idea how many faceless monsters the universe has thrown at me? How many of them I've killed?” His tone is strange: equal measures of pride and self-loathing. “I'll give you a clue: you don't. You can't even begin to imagine, because I've lost track. So many that I can't remember voices or names, who or why for most of them. Only that, when push came to shove, I walked away, and they didn't. Over and over again. Do you really think that if I had really wanted to, if it had been me there on that beach, if the whole thing hadn't been a clever ruse to throw the Silence off my trail—extremely clever, if I don't say so myself.” He stopped looking immensely pleased with himself when he saw the other three glare at him. Amy punched him in the arm. “Ow. Right. Sorry.” He blushed. “Where was I? Right, don't you think I could have gotten out of that trap? In a heartbeat. But they knew. The Silence knew. If there was a chance that doing so would have hurt you,” and now his eyes were fixed on River, “the woman I love, daughter of two of my favorite companions,” he gave Amy and Rory's hands each a quick squeeze, “then I couldn't take that chance. I would sooner die first.”

“We're still right here,” Rory mentioned as the Doctor and River were gazing adoringly into each other's eyes. 

“Taste of your own medicine, dad,” River admonished.

“I've died, willingly and eagerly died, to protect the people I love,” the Doctor continued. “And I absolutely would have done it again, even permanently, for you.”

“A, gross.” Amy told them. “B, promise you'll tell me the next time you're planning on faking your own death.”

“To be fair, I did know that the Silence were going to capture you at some time after that point,” the Doctor said.

“Still,” Amy pouted. “Just...don't go dying any time soon, okay?”

“For you, Amelia Pond, I think I can manage that.”

**Author's Note:**

> My attempt to close up what looked like a bit of a plot hole at first blush, but now appears to be the sort of sadistic thing Kovarian would have loved. Again, not meant to be perfectly thought out or start a fight.


End file.
